A fatal thrust of the sword while your heart somersaults; the delightful ease with which a smile is teased from your lips. For many, such moments of passion and emotion epitomize the experience of live theatre. The sight of a performer, excelling in her craft before your very eyes, conveys excitement in a way that few other art forms can.
But the show itself is the culmination of months of preparation. What is seen on stage rests on a foundation of sweat and tears, of mental and physical dedication and devotion. Behind every standing ovation is a tireless technician, a dogged director, and countless others who have poured heart and soul into providing you with a uniquely enjoyable experience.
For this special issue of the Tribune, A&E takes you behind the scenes of student theatre at McGill, celebrating the work of our friends and peers, the challenges they face, and the indelible joy that binds it all together.
A long and arduous path
Come September, most students return to classes with wild stories, fond memories, and a reluctance to start classes. A few, like Martin Law, return with all that plus one other thing: an artistic vision.
Law is the director of Players’ Theatre’s current production of Macbeth, a position for which he was selected last spring. The McGill Savoy Society, which just wrapped up their production of Iolanthe, similarly hired their director Emma McQueen last May. The directors spent the summer in research and reverie, and by the time auditions began in late September/early October, both had a game plan to set in motion.
Iolanthe began rehearsals Oct. 1, meeting 10 hours per week. Macbeth started a little later, rehearsing “three to four hours … a night, five to seven nights a week,” says Stage Manager Celia Fogel. Time spent also varies across roles; Sophie Krahnke, who plays Celia in Iolanthe in addition to serving as President of the Savoy Society, says she spent up to 20 hours a week working on the show outside of rehearsals.
Spending this much time together facilitates one of the biggest rewards of the rehearsal experience: a fostering of camaraderie among cast and crew, a sentiment which seems to be universally shared. Asked about her favourite memory from rehearsals, Isabelle Liu, who played Fleta in Iolanthe and serves as Publications Director, replies, “starving together.”
“Most of the time, we don’t have time to go out and get lunch [during Saturday rehearsals], so we all end up starving with each other,” says Liu. “Rather than biting each others’ heads off, we just make fun of how hungry we are. it’s during that time that I realize that we’re all in the same boat; we’re all in this together.”
The frenzy of preparation reaches its apex the week before performances begin, when technical elements are all finally incorporated into rehearsals. Lights are hung, sound cues are programmed, and emotions run high, as the fruits of the labours of the cast and crew are in sight. This is tech week—or ‘Hell Week,’ as the Iolanthe cast affectionately termed it.
“I considered arriving at 3 p.m. and leaving at 10 p.m. to be a ‘short’ day at Moyse Hall,” says Iolanthe Stage Manager Marissa Lewis.
An array of challenges
On top of the demands of perfecting a theatrical production, students face a battery of institutional and physical barriers to a successful show.
One concern shared by the two productions was the rehearsal space itself. Macbeth rehearsed primarily in the English Lounge, and Iolanthe in the SSMU Clubs Lounge. Both shows were forced to secure alternative rehearsal spaces at one point or another, sometimes with little advance warning.
“It’s crazy, because we do three to four months of rehearsal[s] … in a classroom, or a hallway, really wherever we can get space,” says Fogel.
“As a director you usually go a little more insane than everyone else in the cast,” says Law, pointing to his attempts to push rehearsal hours to capitalize on free space.
To this, Fogel replies, “I definitely would say that’s one area in which I try to put my foot down. ‘Martin, we are not rehearsing from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. just because SSMU is open and has free space.’”
For Fogel, the difficulty in finding rehearsal space is only one symptom of an environment in which professors and administrators are largely unsympathetic to the concerns of student actors and technicians. She points to the limited opportunities to study technical theatre at McGill, or to gain academic credit for experience gained in out-of-school productions.
“I think I understand where the university is coming from,” she says. “McGill isn’t known for its arts. It’s a research school known for its med program…. But it’s also a big, important, world renowned school. It should embrace this status and offer more opportunities for programs like theatre that are only growing in popularity every year.”
Fogel is also careful to point out that many professors, particularly those in the drama department, do “understand the difficulty of balancing an extracurricular passion like theatre with the demand[s] of school.”
Still, this balance act entails walking a precarious tightrope. Law admits that “schoolwork suffers for sure,” but adds that “It’s worth it.”
Opening night
An hour before the show opens, backstage buzzes with the hum of a well-calibrated machine. Actors are conducting warm-ups, exercising their limbs and voices, in addition to getting into character and changing into costumes. Technicians are preoccupied with setting the multitude of props, and doing one last check on lights and sound. Macbeth also rehearses their fight choreography prior to every performance, to ensure the preparation and safety of their actors. Law takes this opportunity to give last minute directorial notes—what to change from the last production, what to focus on this time—while McQueen is busy assisting with hair and makeup.
This well-orderedness disguises a hearty dose of nerves.
“I spend most of my time running around backstage making sure everyone … is ready to go,” says Lewis, who describes her state of mind as “rather stressed.”
Liu, who describes herself as being “super nervous” prior to the show’s start, agrees. “Some people can’t stop talking because they’ve got the pre-show jitters; others just keep quiet.”
“[I’m] always trying to find a balance between being pumped up and at the same time relaxed,” says Margaret Frainier, who plays Iolanthe. “What I like to do with the girls in my dressing room is put on some dance-y music and jam out.”
Not everyone is fazed, however.
“I don’t get that pre-show butterfly thing,” admits Fogel. “From the minute I set foot in the theatre, I’m concentrated on what I have to do.”
Soon the doors fly open, and the audience shuffles in, buzzing with anticipation of seeing their friends perform, or whispering eagerly about rumoured surprises in store.
And then, the show begins.
Behind the performance
The magic seen on stage is powered behind the scenes by actors and technicians who, though not visible to the audience, are wholly dedicated to ensuring the smooth running of the production.
Performers who are not on stage are often needed to assist with scene changes, or help other actors who have a quick change of costume.
“Sometimes you’re reflecting on the scenes that have gone by,” says Law. “But most of the time you’re just focusing on what [you] still have left to do.”
“The actors are pretty much concentrated and in character—there’s not too much joking going on backstage,” says Fogel. “You can tell everyone’s having a good time, but they take it very seriously.”
Much of this is due to necessity. Despite the enormity of talent on stage, Players’ backstage is a constrained space, and the narrow confines only increases the demand on actors to be efficient, focused, and of course, silent during performances. Moyse Hall, though no leviathan itself as a space for musical theatre, at least provides Savoy the luxury of a green room with a TV, so that backstage cast and crew can follow along with the onstage action. This also facilitates a more relaxed atmosphere.
“We goof off and have so much fun backstage,” says Liu. “When we come off stage, everybody just gives each other a pat on the back and a ‘It looked really good!’ It’s a really nice feeling.”
In the lighting booth and while relaying cues through her headset, Lewis sometimes has to deal with “panic-filled problems,” such as the occasional tipping over of a set piece. But even the stage manager and technicians find opportunity to hit a more relaxed tone during performances:
“We occasionally question plot holes—isn’t Phyllis still mortal?—and converse about parts of the show when technical work isn’t required,” she says.
McGill theatre: Theatre for McGill
The performance itself is merely the tip of an iceberg, one that stretches deep, through months of intense preparation and work. Yet, for the people behind the spectacular productions that grace McGill’s stages every year, theatre is not only a personal creative outlet, but a way to give back to the community, and a school that lacks a fine arts program of its own.
“We as an executive really take it to heart that we are a student service,” says Fiona Penny, Players’ Theatre’s Executive Director. “What underlies every decision we make … is, at the end of the day … are we choosing people that will provide the most accessible show and provide experiences for other McGill students?”
She adds: “Most people [who] get involved in theatre don’t study theatre…. I think that, because it’s not school, that’s why people get so passionate about it. It’s wonderful to have something outside of school that you can care so much about.”
